TURIN, June 30 (Reuters) - Juventus are set for a tug of war over new signing Dario Knezevic after cross-town rivals Torino said that the Croatia defender should be joining them instead.
Juventus announced on their website that
Knezevic had joined them from relegated Livorno, subsequently
adding that they had taken him on loan with an option to buy
half of his contract at the end of the season.
However, a Torino spokesman said they had deposited a
contract for the 26-year-old player's transfer from Livorno with
the Italian Soccer League.
'I don't think you can sell a player twice,' La Gazzetta dello Sport's website quoted Torino president
Urbano Cairo as saying. 'It's a question of good faith. The
world of football must have rules.'
Juventus sporting director Alessio Secco said he was
confident that the deal they had with Knezevic was valid.
'The player has not signed any other contract apart from
ours,' Secco told a news conference. 'That's why we are
absolutely untroubled and we'll deposit the written agreement
tomorrow.'
The Croat made it clear which of the two suitors he
preferred.
'I respect Torino but my dream when I was a child was to
play for a great club and here I'm coming to the greatest of
all,' Knezevic said. 'Over the last few days I never had any
doubts about what to choose.'
Juventus said Knezevic should be able to return to full
training in about a month after suffering a knee ligament strain
playing in Croatia's 1-0 Euro 2008 win over Poland on June 16.
